


The Lirry Mermaid

by Ebb_tide



Series: Fairytale AU [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Style, Falling In Love, Harry is a mermaid, Human Liam, Liam is not, Lirry - Freeform, M/M, Magic, Merman Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 09:45:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4955578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebb_tide/pseuds/Ebb_tide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is a mermaid that swims into Liam's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've always wanted to write a mermaid Harry story so here it is :D

**Liam POV**

My eyes blink open and I’m greeted with the sight of about 50 people in my living room. I look down at the half empty glass of whiskey in my hand. I blink my eyes slowly to focus on the crowd in the room. I wonder if half of the people I see are attributed to the amount of alcohol I’ve been knocking back. I try to blink away the double vision, but around 50 people are still partying in my living room.

I lift myself off of the couch, but that turns out to be a bad idea. The wave of dizziness that washes over me makes me simultaneously want to sit back down and run the bathroom to puke my brains out. I choose to sit, but I have a feeling the toilet and I are going to be good friends later tonight.

I close my eyes to get my bearings, but my head is still swimming in alcohol. I feel the couch shift from the weight of someone sitting next to me, and I’m pretty sure I only have slurred conversation to offer my new neighbor.

Thankfully the voice next to me belongs to my friend Niall. He’s sitting right next to me but the deafening volume of the music makes him have to shout next to my ear. “You look like you’re 4am drunk, but it’s only twelve thirty.”

His heavy Irish accent makes the word thirty sound really funny. I mimic his voice, drawing out the sounds. “Turrr teeee.”

My eyes are still closed, but I hear Niall pouring a glass of something and oh my God, I want to die. The sound of the liquid filling the glass makes my stomach churn and I moan in response.

Niall laughs. “Bet you’re regretting that second shot of whiskey, huh?”

I moan. “Yeah, but I’m regretting the third and fourth shots even more.”

Niall yells back. “What’d ya say? I can’t hear ya over the music.”

I shake my head, signaling that it wasn’t important.

Niall puts a hand on my shoulder. “You should be proud of yourself Payno. You did good mate. This party is about you.”

Niall’s words cause my stomach to flip. I’m fully aware that I’m the man of the hour tonight. That’s the reason I’ve been downing drinks like a frat boy.

I’ve wanted to be a songwriter for as long as I can remember. By the time I was sixteen I was lucky enough to land a job with one of the most successfully music producers in the world. By 18, I was penning songs for some of the most talented singers in the business. Now, at 22, I’m more famous than the stars that I write for. Just the thought of that makes me want to run and hide somewhere.

I’ve always been a rather down to earth person. I prefer poems over parties, and quiet nights at home instead of wild nights out. Sadly, this life requires me to spend most of my time outside of my hermit shell, but at least I have my best mate Niall to come along for the ride. He’s a DJ so he’s used to the nightlife. He’s also been my best mate since we were babies, so he knows how much I hate the nightlife.

So here I am, having a platinum record party with close to one hundred industry people that I don’t even know. This beach house was a gift to me from the head of a music label and I just moved in yesterday. That means I barely know this house or the people in it.

I’m knocked back into reality when Niall gives my arm a punch. “I gotta take a leak. You better not try to run away while I’m gone.”

I rub my forehead. “I’m not capable of running anywhere Ni.”

Niall laughs as he walks away. Without Niall to distract my attention, all I can focus on is the loudest bass beat in history pounding against my skull. It’s ironic because I wrote the song that’s currently causing permanent brain damage. In my defense, it was never meant to be played this loud.

I think it’s about time to get some fresh air, so I drag myself outside. My new house is literally right on the water, so my backyard consists of a dock to the ocean.

It’s so dark outside that I can barely see, but my eyes slowly adjust to the lack of light. There’s something inviting about the darkness. It must not be inviting to most people because I’m the only one out here, but I’m used to being the 1 out of 100 exception.

I walk down the length of the dock and feel the cool, salty breeze against my face. The tranquility around me makes me almost forget that I have a house full of strangers to get back to.

I sit on the edge of the dock and let my legs dangle into the water. I’m still filled to the brim with whiskey, but the calm of the ocean has a sobering effect on me. The initial shock of the freezing water hitting my skin helps me sober up a bit as well.

I close my eyes and focus on the peacefulness around me. The darkness veils all the insecurities and anxiety that today has filled me with.

My dockside mediation is cut short by the sound of a low raspy, voice. “Hello.”

The pitch of the stranger’s voice surprises me. Most men have a low pitch to their speaking voice. They settle around a B2 range, but this voice has a much deeper, warmer tone. As a musician, the sound sends an unexpected chill down my spine.

I blink my eyes open to match sight to sound and I have to blink again to make sure I’m not hallucinating. The sight of the figure swimming before me is even more breathtaking than his gorgeous voice.

Most of the stranger is covered by dark, opaque, sea water, but the view from his shoulders upward is almost beyond words. His hair spirals down to his shoulders in long, curly waves. The hair that isn’t streaming down to his shoulders is damp and framing his eyes in a carelessly tousled way.

His eyes though… his eyes are a brilliant green that I have never seen before. The greenest eyes I have ever seen are staring back at me. We lock eyes for what feels like forever, until he finally blinks. A few drops of water roll from his eyelashes as he opens his eyes to focus on me again and oh my God, I’m drunk all over again.

I try to say something intelligent. I’m a song writer. Surely I can string together a proper greeting. I open my mouth, but an alcohol fueled hiccup is all that comes out.

He laughs at me. His careless laugh sounds more musical than the love song that I’ve been slaving over for days writing. His laugh reveals a dimple on each cheek and the more I look at him, the more he rewrites my definition of perfection.

He swims a little closer, but he’s still out of reach; literally and figuratively.

I try to speak again and this time I’m successful. “Um, hello. I didn’t see you inside before.”

The beautiful stranger shakes his head. “No. I’ve been out here during the party.”

I laugh. “In the water? The whole time?”

He smiles. “I like it in here. Come on in the water’s fine.”

I shiver a bit still dangling my feet in the water. “My freezing feet don’t agree with you mate. Why don’t you come inside? It’s my house so I can show you around.”

Wet, curly, and gorgeous glances at the house and then back at me. His voice is barely above a whisper. “I don’t belong there.”

I kick my feet under the water, gently causing ripples. “I kind of feel the same way. By the way, I’m Liam.”

His eyes sparkle. “I know.”

I raise an eyebrow. “This is the point that you tell me your name.”

The dimpled smile returns. “I’m Harry.”

Harry glances behind me. He nervously runs his hand through his hair, creating a new variation of perfection. “I’m sorry Liam. I have to go.”

I shake my head. “No, we just –.” But hear Niall shouting my name and turn away from Harry. Niall continues to shout. “Liiii-aaaam? Are you out here? If you jumped off a’ this dock I’m not jumpin’ in to save you. You hear me? I’m not pullin’ your drowning butt from the water!”

I shake my head. “No need to play hero. I’m right here.”

Niall sighs, looking a bit relived. “What part of ‘don’t run away while I’m gone’ did you not understand? You know what, don’t answer that. Let’s just get away from this creepy stretch of dark, open water. I’m not fishin’ you outta that.”

I nod and turn back to the water. “You want to come with us Harry?”

I expect to see Harry, but all I see is an endless sea of open water.

Niall pulls me by the arm to help me stand. “Who the heck is Harry?”

Niall’s eyebrows raise in fear. “Oh Geez, you’ve created an imaginary friend to cope with the stress of fame. I saw something about this on one of those TV shows.”

I squint at the water, hoping to see Harry. I had just turned away for a second so I should still be able to see him swimming in the distance. He has to either swim to the nearest beach to get back to his car, or he lives in one of the houses nearby and he just has to swim home. Either way, I should still be able to see him. Like I said, I just looked away for a second.

Niall continues to ramble. “It’s starts with the imaginary friend and then you start to refer to yourself in the third person. Then comes the full psychotic break.”

I smirk. “Liam’s fine.”

Niall gasps. “Oh God. It’s started already!”

I lean on his shoulders because I’m not a steady as I thought I was. I take a slow breath. “I’m not losing my mind. The only thing I might be losing in the next ten minutes is my lunch and dinner.”

I could feel Niall’s shoulders shake with laughter as I continued to lean on him. “I’m not sitting on the toilet floor, rubbin’ your back as you throw up.”

I sigh. “You won’t save me from drowning, and you won’t comfort me when I’m sick. What kind of best mate are you?”

I notice we’re passing by the couch in the living room and heading up the stairs. Niall laughs. “I’m the kind of friend that’s takin’ you upstairs to your bedroom and then going back down to cover for you. Can your Harry do that?”

I close my eyes as I feel my head hit the pillow. “Don’t be jealous. I don’t want Harry to be my new best mate. I just want to sleep with him.”

Niall puts the covers over me as I slowly drift off to dreamland. I could swear that I hear him laughing hysterically, but I’m too tired to know for sure. To be honest, everything that happened in the last half hour feels a little fuzzy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Harry POV**

I watch the light go out in Liam’s window and lean back, submerging myself underwater again. When I close my eyes I can still see Liam’s face in my mind. I let the current drift me into the deeper water as I try to burn the image of the most beautiful man in the world into my memory.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been drifting, but when I open my eyes I know that I’m not where I’m supposed to be. I water feels too cold against my skin and I know I’ve drifted too far too fast.

I feel my heart pounding and I try to steady it. The fish that inhabit this part of the ocean can sense fear. I get a handle on my breathing, but as I take a deep breath in, I hear a simultaneous deep breath out.

Something’s behind me…

Oh God. Something’s behind me!

I’m not sure which way is to safety, but I don’t have the time to make a choice. I start to swim as fast as I can in the direction that I’m facing and hope for the best. I realize quickly that I picked the wrong direction when the water gets colder. I make a sharp turn, but it puts me face to face with the fish that’s been chasing me.

I feel the teeth of the shark bite down on my arm before I even recognize that it’s a shark. The jaws of the monster clamp down on my forearm as the fish pulls me deep underwater. This is the method that most sharks use to kill their human prey. They drag their victims down far enough to drown them and then have an easy meal.

I can hold my breath longer than a human can. I’d have no problem staying underwater for hours, but I’m losing a lot of blood. Also, the shark is thrashing enough that I’m afraid he’s going to bite my arm clean off.

I wrap my other arm around the shark and hold on as the shark thrashes around violently. The pain in my arm and the churning of the water makes it impossible to see straight. When the shark stops thrashing around I hit it as hard as I can. I aim for a weak spot. I think I might have hit it in the eye because it makes a painful growl.

The shark loosens his bite in preparation of sinking his teeth in deeper, but it’s enough to pull my arm free. The second that I’m free I dart away from the monster. I swim faster than I ever have, but the shark is just a breath away. I feel him biting at my tail as I race through the water.

The trail of blood that’s coming from my arm is keeping him in a state of hunger fueled anger and his occasional gnashing at my tail eventually pays off. I wince as he nips off a piece of my tail, but I use the adrenaline to speed up.

The chase feels like it’s taking forever, but just as quickly as it had started, the shark backs off. I feel the water getting warmer against my skin and realize that I’m in the shallower water now.

I swim to Liam’s house and grab onto one of the legs of the dock. I’m so weak at this point that I can barely resist being dragged out to sea by the gentle current. I grip onto the wooden leg as tightly as I can and reach onto the dock. I feel around and my fingertips find something hard and round. I pick it up and throw it as hard as I can toward Liam’s window.

I’m too weak to see if it actually hits the target and I lean my head against the wooden dock. It’s still pitch black outside, so if no one hears the sound of whatever I threw at the window, then they won’t be able to see me.

I close my eyes as I feel my body slowly slipping under the water. I’m almost fully under water when I feel a hand wrap around my wrist.

My hero pulls me up by my non-injured arm. He hoists me up enough so that my upper body is out of the water, but my tail is still hidden. I look up into the wide eyes of Liam as he gasps. “Harry? What happened?!”

He grips me by the waist and tries to pull the rest of me out of the water.

The fear of what he will discover if he lifts me out of the water is enough to give me enough adrenaline to squirm out of his grasp.

Liam winces as he leans further to try and get a grip on me. “You have to help me Harry. I can’t pull you up by myself.”

I shake my head. “No. Please. I want to stay in the water. Please don’t touch me – please Liam…”

I try to keep a distance between me and Liam, but my fingers aren’t strong enough to keep a firm grip on the leg of the dock from this distance. I start to sway in the current as I fight to hold on.

Liam nods. “Ok. I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want me too. Just come closer to the dock. Just let me keep you from drowning.”

I move closer to Liam and I feel more stable as I hug the leg of the dock with one arm. The other arm is too weak to do anything.

Liam sits on the edge of the dock. He’s honoring his promise not to touch me, but I can tell that he wants to break that promise more than anything.

He bites his lip as his eyes inspect my bloody arm. “You’re bleeding.”

I look from his concerned brown eyes to the bleeding wound on my forearm and then back at those beautiful brown eyes. My voice starts to shake and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m about to cry or if it’s because I’m about to go into shock. “I got… I got attacked b-by a shark.”

Liam’s eyes grow to an enormous size, but I must be looking back at him with an equal amount of terror because his face softens. His voice is calm like the sea. I like that. “I’m not a doctor, but I know that we have to stop the bleeding.”

He takes a glance at the door and for a moment I think he’s going to go inside to get medical supplies, but he smiles. “If I go inside, you’re going to swim away.”

He rips off the edge of his pajama shirt and continues to tear it away until he has a long strip of fabric in his hands. He moves his hands toward me and I instinctually move away.

He holds the fabric in one hand as he raises the other hand in surrender. “I’m just going to wrap your arm. I promise that I’ll only do that.”

I feel a tear escape as I nod. “I trust you.”

Liam starts to slowly wrap my wound. He sounds calm, but his hands are shaking. “So a few weeks ago Niall and I went to this club and one of the guys got really drunk and crazy. He put his hand through a glass table. Thankfully there was a guy who knew first aid at the club. He wrapped the guy’s hand up just like I’m doing for you.”

I blink my eyes trying to focus on Liam’s story instead of the pain.

Liam laughs. “Putting your hand though a table is pretty dumb, right? Drunk people tend to make bad decisions.”

I look up at Liam. “Are you drunk?”

Liam laughs again. “This massive headache I have right now makes the answer to that a solid no.”

Liam secures the “bandage” by tying the two ends together in a knot.

He speaks cautiously. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

I feel the stinging pain at the end of my tail, but that’s not a secret I can share with Liam. I shake my head.

Liam runs his hand through his hair. “Is it safe for you to go back home?”

My eyes dart over to Niall and I quickly duck under the water before Niall sees me.

I hear Liam yell. “Wait!”

It’s hard to see through the dark water, but I can see Niall grabbing Liam by the waist and trying to pull him away from the edge of the dock.

The voice, that I can assume is Niall, starts yelling. “Are you crazy? There’s not one there Liam. Stop struggling. If you jump into that water you’re gonna get yourself killed!”

Liam yells back. “I have to go in there. He’s going to drown. Let go of me!”

They struggle for a bit and finally Liam stops fighting back. I guess I’ve been under the water longer than a human can be without drowning.

Liam sits on the end of the dock. “Can I have a minute alone Niall?”

Niall yells. “Heck no. You tried to jump of this freakin’ dock. There’s no way I’m leaving you alone out here.”

Liam looks down and for a second I’m scared that he can see me under the water. He looks up again and sighs. “I think I just watched a guy drown.”

Niall shakes his head. “There was no guy. Harry isn’t real.”

I want so badly to resurface and tell Liam that I’m ok, but I’ve broken so many rules letting Liam see me. I can’t let Niall see me too. Worst case scenario, Liam can think of me as a hallucination. Best case scenario, Liam can keep me as his best kept secret. Either way, Niall doesn’t fit in the equation. I can’t let him see me.

Liam whispers before he lets Niall lead him back into the house. “If you can hear me Harry, be safe tonight.”

When Niall and Liam retreat back into the house, I slowly swim under the dock. It’s cozy enough under the dock to duck under the water and sleep for the night… and that’s exactly what I do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I did that to poor Harry, but at least Liam took good care of him. I hope you like this second fairy tale in the series :)


End file.
